


The Rose Café

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Jean is a writer, M/M, Marco's a barista, Ymir is trans, extremely cliche, honestly almost everyone is queer, kinda drabble-y, suck at tags we'll deal with them later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-15
Updated: 2015-01-15
Packaged: 2018-03-07 16:25:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3177085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Becoming a barista wasn't exactly how Marco imagined he'd be spending his time once he was out of school. But when one's desperate they'll do whatever it takes to stay afloat. Almost all of his earnings go to paying rent for the apartment he shares with his sister, Ymir, and he rarely has enough for anything special.</p><p>Luckily there's a bright star in his dark sky; a café regular with a thing for classic novels and black coffee. Every day he comes in and reads until a little after noon. But then something different happened...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Rose Café

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there, you can call me Hopeless. This started out as a drabble in my folders a couple months ago. Then I got ideas.
> 
> I hope you enjoy <3

* * *

 

The pitter patter of the rain falling on the tarp over the door was starting to have a hypnotic effect on the freckled brunet. Marco’s eyelids felt heavy as he leaned against the counter of the café, staring at the entrance as he waited for the regular to come in.

The regular was a guy with messy two toned hair. He was rather attractive, and he couldn’t have been much older than Marco, but there was a tired look in his amber eyes that gave the illusion of him having been aged much older than he was. Every morning he would come into the café and get a cup of coffee before going to bookshelves and getting something to read. For some reason he was fond of Alice in Wonderland, and would often sit and read it while he drank his coffee. When he was done he would fold the corner of the page he was on, put the book back, say “have a good day”, and leave. By now a decent number of pages had been dog-eared.

Marco had never asked for a name. He didn’t know anything about him, other than his coffee order and favorite book. There was no reason to bother learning his name, so he simply carried on with life.

Today, however, he decided that he’d finally ask. If the rain didn’t conflict with the routine that is.

He found himself starting to nod off, the lazy day getting to him. The morning rush hadn’t been as busy as usual, due to the weather, but the sound of the rain was so peaceful and maybe he’d be able to allow himself to just close his eyes… just for a little bit…

The bell above the door rang, snapping Marco back into reality. He shot up, vision going black for a moment as his blood tried to resettle. With a yawn he looked over and offered the customer a smile. It was the regular, dressed in his usual attire; jeans, boots, and hoodie with a shirt underneath.

“Good morning. Welcome to the Rose Café,” Marco said, still maintaining his smile.

The young man nodded, unzipping the damp hoodie and pulling it off to be draped across the back of his chair. “Uh, yeah… just a black coffee, please.”

Marco rang up the order and the man went through his usual routine of picking up the now tattered copy of the Lewis Carroll book and flipping through the dog-eared pages. His eyes remained on the pages as he sat down and continued reading, pushing the thin framed glasses he wore up the bridge of his nose.

He continued to watch him as the coffee brewed, curious. Maybe, just maybe, this time he’d do it…

“Sir,” he called out to catch the young man’s attention. Looking up from his book, he glanced over at the barista.

“Yeah?” was his response, the young man looking up with furrowed brows.

The brunet swallowed, not exactly sure of what to do next. “I, uh… I was wondering… W-What’s your name?”

He was quiet for a moment. Giving his glasses a nudge, he returned his gaze back to the book and said, “Jean.” He said it with the slightest accent, the sounds of the letters flowing together sweetly.

Marco nodded. Jean… It was a nice name, smooth and fitting for his appearance.

He resumed working and pulled a mug from a cabinet, pouring coffee into it and carrying it around the corner to Jean’s table. He was met with a nod meant to be a thank you, and a half smile. Marco nodded back and returned to his place behind the counter.

The curiosity continued to bother him. “So…” he started again. “Why are you so interested in that book?”

Jean’s brows furrowed once again and he shifted slightly to meet his gaze. “What do you mean?”

“Alice in Wonderland,” Marco continued. “Every day you come here and you read it. I, uh… I was wondering what you find so interesting about it.”

“Have  _you_  ever read it?” Jean asked.

“I, uh… no…” he admitted.

“Well then you need to do so,” was the response he got. A smirk playing at his lips, Jean brought the mug to his mouth and sipped at his coffee. “It’s interesting to read. Wonderland is a like child’s fantasy world, and he wrote it as an adult. It’s pretty impressive. I admire his skills.”

Marco’s head tilted slightly. “Admire?”

“Yeah…” Jean folded the corner of the page he was on and closed the book, looking over the cover. “Admire…”

“Are you a writer?” Marco asked, finding it odd that anyone else would be interested in a book for reasons like that.

“Sorta…” Jean trailed off slightly, staring at the title and running his fingers over the embellished letters on the old material. With a sigh he gave his glasses a nudge once more and continued reading, taking sips from his coffee every now and then.

Other customers came and went while Jean remained, content in his own little world. Marco kept an eye on him until he left. When he did he met Marco’s gaze for a brief moment, giving him a kind smile before exiting the shop.

The morning faded into afternoon, and afternoon into evening until Marco had to close up the shop. He cleaned off the tables, mopped the floor, and put back books that customers had left lying around. A smile tugged at his face when he saw the copy of Alice in Wonderland tucked carefully into its spot on the shelf.

Bells chimed as the door opened. “Heyo little bro,” his sister called out.

Marco’s expression pinched. “Ymir, I told you to stop calling me that.”

She scoffed at this, shaking off her umbrella before coming inside. “It’s still pouring outside. This is what we get for living in Washington.”

"We’ve always lived here Miri, why are you complaining now?" Marco asked, moving to the the trashcans and pulling off the lids.

"I’m allowed to gripe," she said, frowning at him. Marco tensed as she stared at him. "Did you get stuck here alone all day?"

"It’s no big deal," he insisted, tying up the bags and picking them up. "Can you put the lids back on those for me?"

Ymir continued to frown, but did as asked. “Marco, if you got stuck here alone then you should get the other guy’s pay.”

He shook his head as he went out the backdoor, tossing the trash in the dumpster. “Miri it’ll be fine. It’s just one day.”

"That’s what you said last time. And the time before. I’m just trying to look out for you." She watched as he checked the register. "Come on, let’s go get take-out or something."

"Just gimme a sec…" He pulled a key from his pocket and locked the cash box. "Alright, now I can go."

Ymir nodded. “Good. Now come on little bro.”

Marco just sighed, a little too tired to care about the nickname.

 

—————————————————

 

“ _Six_ times!?” Ymir exclaimed from the kitchen of the apartment, dumbfounded. “Marco you need to tell the owner.”

He fidgeted uncomfortably on the couch, picking at his fried rice with his chopsticks. “I don’t think that’s necessary…”

"Marco, grow a pair," she growled, plopping down next to him. "Leaving you alone six fucking times, what bullshit."

"Miri…"

"No, Marco. Don’t even start. Promise me you’ll tell the guy as soon as possible."

Marco shifted where he sat, relenting. “Fine. Next time the boss comes in, I’ll talk to him.”

Ymir smirked at her brother. “Good. You’re twenty-two now; it’s high time you started acting like it.”

He rolled his eyes and scooped up some rice, bending over the coffee table to make sure he didn’t drop any into his lap. He didn’t feel like he was twenty-two. It was such a weird age.

 _Just keep quiet,_ he told himself, picking out a piece of shrimp.

"So… did you see Wonder Boy again?"

Marco nearly choked on his food, coughing and reaching for his drink.

Ymir laughed. “I’m gonna take that as a yes.”

"Why do you insist on calling him that?" he asked, breathing deeply to catch his breath.

"Because it gets a reaction out of you and I don’t know his name," she said in response, still smirking.

"His name is Jean," he corrected her, looking at her pointedly.

Ymir tilted her head to the side. “John?”

"No,  _Jean_ ,” he clarified, saying it with the same accent he’d heard him say before. _“_ I’m pretty sure he’s French.”

She laughed at this. “You big gay dork, you’re head over heels for a Frenchie.”

Marco rolled his eyes at his sister and stabbed a chopstick into a shrimp. “I’m not the only gay one here. And he’s a writer, so…”

"A writer?" Ymir’s head tilted a little. "Doesn’t sound like your type."

His expression pinched when she said this. “My ‘type’?”

"Well, I guess you don’t seem to have a type. All the guys you’ve gone out with were assholes."

"That seems a little harsh…"

“ _All_ of them, babe.” Ymir picked up an egg roll from the tray and took a bite out of it. “Just be careful, alright?” she said through her food.

"Quit talking with food in your mouth, it’s disgusting," he scolded.

She swallowed. “I’m just saying.”

"Yeah, yeah," he said, brushing off her warning. "Don’t worry, I’ll be okay."

"You better. Otherwise I’ll bring Historia home and we’ll keep you awake. All. Fucking. Night. Long."

Marco groaned at the thought of his sister’s girlfriend. On the outside Historia looked like an angel, but in reality she was the sassiest and the most sarcastic person he knew.

"I swear to god I’ll do it," she said, threatening him with her own chopsticks. "So make sure you know what you’re getting into."

"I’ll be careful, I promise. Besides, I don’t even know if he’s attracted to guys."

"You poor soul," Ymir said. "I’m rooting for you now. This’ll be an interesting show."

Marco scoffed. “Wow, thanks for the support.”

"I’m your big sis," she said, grinning. "It’s what I do."

"Well, could you do it less?"

Ymir’s grin became a smirk as she propped her feet up on his lap. “Nope.”

He let out a sigh. “Of course.”

“Aw come on, you know you love me,” she said, changing positions to put an arm around his shoulders.

“Sure I do,” he said, tone sarcastic but the meaning truthful.

“Awesome.” Ymir elbowed him in the side. “Now hand over the remote, I called dibs on the Roku.”

Marco gave his sister a shove. “When did you do that!?”

“While you were looking over the take-out menu,” she said matter-of-factly. “No clue why you take so long to do that, you always order the same thing anyways.”

“I don’t remember you calling dibs.”

“Well then I do now, hand it over.” 

Groaning, Marco wasn’t in the mood to wrestle with his sister over control of what they watched. He’d get her back eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed, more will come when I finish ^_^


End file.
